Sea Serpent
by Liara-Shadowsong
Summary: A tale of Umino Iruka and Mitarashi Anko from their Academy days, through their teens, to the series as they deal with the life of a ninja. This is a stand alone prequel to Fox Angel and Fox's Wings. For a Twenty Themes contest that lacked a number 16.
1. Clothing

Sea Serpent

By Kawaii Chibi Shun

Disclaimer: Kishimoto-sensei owns the series Naruto. I'd be perfectly content with just Iruka or Tobi, but unfortunately, I'm only a fanfiction writer.

Author Notes / Summary: This is my entry to Sillymail's Twenty Themes contest found at: http:// www . fanfiction . net / fr / 727876 / 31340 / 2113517 / 1 / #2238393. The contest also gives the option of claiming a pairing not to be duplicated by another entrant, in the case of my story Iruka x Anko.

Please also note: Canonically, Anko is 24 at the Chuunin Exam, and Iruka is 23. She graduated at age 10, he at 11. Additionally, the chapters are in chronological order unless stated otherwise.

**1. Clothing**

Ninjas were expected to wear black. Or if not, another dark color.

The most recent Shinobi War was just ending, so things were just beginning to return to how they were in peacetime. Classes were still arranged roughly by age at Konoha's Ninja Academy, but the process of shifting the average graduation age from ten back to twelve had barely begun.

The group of nine- and ten-year-olds currently assembled for weapons practice were all expected to graduate as part of the next class or the one following, most among the last to graduate early due to war casualties, and were expected to already dress like shinobi.

Which is why ten-year-old Mitarashi Anko was so surprised that the good proper shinobi-length trousers and tunic over fishnets of a year-younger classmate were nearly snow white.

Umino Iruka, eh? She'd have to keep that name in mind.


	2. Mud and Feathers

Author notes: Summary and disclaimer are found at the beginning of the first part.

**2. Mud and Feathers**

Umino Iruka was walking through the streets of Konoha with a bucket of mud clasped in his arms, trailing feathers from the overstuffed bag slung across his back.

This was...actually not unusual. Iruka had made quite the reputation for himself after loosing his parents in the Kyuubi attack a few months earlier, most likely to try to keep people from trying to pry too much. The passers-by who recognized him were just grateful that Iruka hadn't gotten his hands on any tar.

What the shinobi noticed as odd, though, was his apparent destination. The training fields he was walking toward were generally used when a genin team was trained by their jonin sensei. Iruka, though, was expected to graduate the Ninja Academy in the next class.

Contrary to any worries, the prank was not planned to be executed against a jonin, but rather a genin. Iruka was tired of being coddled and pitied by people claiming they wanted to be his friends, so he was enlisting the help of his only peer who had never had the gall to _pity_ him, to treat him like some sort of fragile doll rather than a ninja-in-training.

Fortunately, Iruka remembered _exactly_ which training grounds Anko had said she and her sensei were going to be practicing on that week.

Readjusting the bucket of mud in his arms and mentally congratulating himself for thinking to add a strong vegetable dye to the water before mixing it with the dirt so the memory of the prank would last as long as the dye, Iruka thought to himself, 'When Anko and I get to them, Mizuki and his friends will never know what hit them. That'll teach them to feel sorry for someone who just wants someone to be friendly and supportive, not treat them like a helpless little kid.'


	3. Destruction

A/N: Like I said before, the summary and disclaimer are attached to the first part. Just a warning, this part is...not terribly happy. The next one will be significantly more upbeat.

**3. Destruction**

The nurse led Anko into the hospital room, bidding her to be quiet while Iruka slept, and not to disturb him unless he woke up on his own because he was still recovering.

Destruction. That was the only way to describe what had happened to his team. Anko had seen what was left of them, even though Sensei had tried to keep her from looking. She'd just made chuunin, so she didn't understand why until realizing the remains had been...neigh unrecognizable.

"It was supposed to be a routine C-rank. But there were so many of them. We got split up. I got too lost to find the rest of the team, so I surrounded myself with the best traps I could to wait for backup."

Iruka was awake. He looked upset, but had he even seen the results? He'd been unconscious when he arrived at the hospital, the medic-nin had said. Not surprising, considering he'd only been a genin for a few months, had barely even been on any missions with his new team, hardly had any real experience.

"Are my teammates alright? What about Sensei? No one's told me anything." Panic showed in Iruka's features now; he'd scarcely known the other members of his team, but he still would never wish ill upon any of them.

"Remember how ninja are nearly always in teams of three or four? Sensei didn't think he could handle more than one student at once." Anko had moved closer to Iruka's hospital bed as she spoke. She sat on the edge next to him, but avoided meeting his eyes. "He changed his mind. We're going to be a three-man squad."

"What does that have to do with... I mean, I'm glad you'll have another teammate, but where would... Wait, by 'we' do you mean...? Oh God, no. You can't mean..."

Iruka's eyes brimmed with tears as he realized what Anko had been too scared to say directly.

"I'm so sorry, Iruka," Anko said softly, as she suddenly found her arms full of sobbing genin.

Anko awkwardly did her best to comfort Iruka, as Orochimaru quietly conversed with Sarutobi to finalize Iruka's addition to his team. There had never been a recorded instance of a genin being the sole survivor of the massacre of a squad before, but hopefully the boy wouldn't be forced to go through another loss for a good many years...

O

O

Yes, it was sad. Sorry, but it fit into the storyline, and came to mind at the theme, since it was actually intended as back-story for another fanfiction where Iruka was Orochimaru's student. I'm writing this instead.

There will probably be another borderline-angst chapter where Orochimaru turns missing-nin and Anko eventually ends up being the one in the hospital bed being comforted by Iruka instead. Other than that, though, I'm hoping to keep the story more light-hearted. The next theme is "music", and I hope to make that one at least somewhat humorous. It'll take place...maybe a year after this one?


	4. Music

A/N: Summary and disclaimer are to be found on the first part.

**4. Music**

"Anko, Iruka, the Hokage gave us a C-rank infiltration mission. Undercover infiltration, two days' travel away."

Both Orochimaru's apprentices looked excited at the prospect of a mission, but less so at the length of the travel time.

In the year since the two-man squad had become a three-man squad, both Anko and Iruka had progressed by leaps and bounds.

It was Anko's choice when to apply for the exam to become a jonin or special jonin and whether to ask to be reassigned, but she would surely do well for herself.

Iruka was finally opening up after his losses of the last three years, and was progressing well as a shinobi.

However...

"I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it goes. Dum dum dum... I know a song that gets on..."

He still had difficulty being serious during travel and sometimes during training drills. Lingering bits of the prankster in him, Orochimaru supposed. Not that he could really fault Iruka for that, since it had been that very aspect of his personality that had saved his life the year before, just so long as he could focus when needed.

"I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves..."

And now Anko was joining in on the music. Never mind being angry. Now Orochimaru just needed to save his poor eardrums from his overeager students. Maybe there was a new jutsu he could teach them during the travel without drawing undue attention from other travelers?

Orochimaru may have two promising young apprentices, but there was a reason he hadn't wanted students, and why he'd taken only one initially. What had he done to deserve this?

O

O

I've been focusing on their friendship so far; as they get older, there are hints at a mutual crush. Sadly enough, I have the first kiss planned for the eighth theme, in their mid teens! I think I'll be adding a replacement 16th theme if I have the time... I'll try to write faster.


	5. Tooth

A/N: Summary and disclaimer are to be found on the first part.

**5. Tooth**

Orochimau could not believe what he was doing. He was about to let a couple of barely-teenagers get their hands on his precious snake-summoning contract. Certainly they were his apprentices, but still...

Anko and Iruka were both overjoyed. They were finally going to learn how to summon snakes like Sensei!

Unfortunately, their hopes of something big and impressive on their first try were effectively dashed when it took them both most of a day just to manage summoning unhatached snake eggs, though to her credit Anko's was close to hatching.

Humoring his students, Orochimaru performed a summoning of his own at the start of the second day, so that they could get a better idea of the sorts of serpents they could perhaps one day bring to their plane with the jutsu. He chose, not the great master of the snake summons, Manda, but another large snake.

It was still a huge being, as big around as a larger tree, with scales of deep green and eyes of golden yellow. Anko took great interest in its fangs, the smallest still as large as a kunai, an assessment which Iruka agreed with.

With renewed enthusiasm, both returned to trying to bring forth something already hatched with the jutsu, until they grew tired enough to collapse side by side in the training field, not from chakra depletion so much as being truly tired.

Orochimaru smiled, showing his snake's-fang like eyeteeth, and gave his congratulations at accomplishing so much in so little a time. Playing happily with the tiny baby garden snake Anko had managed to summon on their final attempt, both young ninjas laughed at the irony that their snake-like teacher was the holder of the contract for serpents.

It was a pity they did not know what other plans ran through his head, plans involving an entirely different jutsu.

O

Hm... I meant to have this done sooner. I hope I can pick up the pace for the rest, not that anyone else has more themes posted so far. Well, I hope this chapter was enjoyed; the more romantic fluffiness should be starting sometime soon. And, yes, Orochimaru is defecting right about next chapter.


	6. Vinegar

A/N: Summary and disclaimer are to be found on the first part.

**6. Vinegar**

One moment, Team Orochimaru had been training in a somewhat remote practice ground. The next, each student felt a sharp pain to the neck despite sensing no ninja from outside the team.

Everything went black.

With a groan, Iruka raised his head. The room looked like part of Sensei's jutsu research area, though he hadn't been in it for a long time. Anko was in the chamber too, though she seemed a bit more conscious.

Anko pondered their surroundings. Both young ninjas had their hands shackled above their heads, too far apart to perform jutsus, and they were situated too far apart to reach each other.

Cursing to herself, she asked, "Iruka? Are you alright?"

"...I think so. My left shoulder hurts, right by my neck. A dart? But what about you, Anko?"

"The same. What the hell happened?"

"I don't know. I didn't detect anyone other than Sensei. But we need to get out of here first."

"Right. But... this actually looks like part of his research area, doesn't it?"

The two students, being too far from each other to help the other until they freed themselves, began trying to get out of their restraints as quickly as possible.

The obvious method was a substitution jutsu, since it could be performed without handsigns, but to no avail. Their capturer was a ninja, and had warded the manacles against the basic technique.

Iruka's next try was immediate. He kicked his right foot over his head, and tried to bring it close enough to his hand to reach the lockpick hidden there.

He could perform the splits on the ground, but in air from a standing position was far harder. Evidently, he needed to start hiding extra tools somewhere easier to reach while locked up, not just unlocking a door.

Iruka figured he could always try to get the pick free with his other foot then transfer it to his hand, but why do that when there was another option?

Anko had tried another route. Her set of lockpicks was in a weapon pouch, sitting across the room. It was a miracle the Iruka still had one at all, but that was because he carried a spare for reasons that baffled Anko.

It wasn't as though she could just dislocate her shoulder and slip free, as they had been taught to do if bound by ropes and prevented from using a substitution jutsu.

No, Anko took the direct route, focusing chakra through her body and ripping the manacles from the wall with chakra-enhanced strength. After all, the juncture between her bindings and her cell wasn't half as strong as either on its own, so she didn't have to be an expert on the subject to make it work here.

As she regained her footing, shackles still attached, Anko heard a _thump_. Iruka had landed in a somewhat undignified heap, the lockpick in his... mouth?

Spitting it into his hand and working on one of Anko's shackles as she gathered her weapons from where they had naively been placed on a table across the room, Iruka remarked sheepishly, "Sensei's stretching jutsu only takes one hand-seal if you know how to do it. I figured I could manage that much one-handed, since it'd be easier to use my tongue than try to reach that high with my feet."

Anko just rolled her eyes and took the pick from Iruka to unlock the shackle from her left wrist while he put his weapons pouches back in their proper place.

Both quickly came to the conclusion that there was something up with Orochimaru. There hadn't been anyone else around to the best of their knowledge, and it was unlike him to test them with something like this.

Additionally, they noticed something off. "Iruka, there's something on your shoulder, right in the spot that you said hurt."

"You have something there, too. It looks like the tomoe of a Sharigan, actually. ...Once, I pranked the Uchihas, and I definitely saw enough of the Sharingan to know what it looks like. You'd think they'd be less uptight about a little paint. It was even blue. Okay, so it was powder blue. I didn't think they'd notice anything less."

"Off topic, Iruka. I think... Sensei was studying seals at some point, I think. I really hope this isn't one of them. If it is... Dammit, I just hope it's not."

The very real possibility of their teacher's betrayal settled into Anko and Iruka, as sharp as the vinegar they poured over the parchment wards sealing the door to dissolve them without the risks of touching them with either their hands or their chakra.

They quickly decided what to do if the worst-case scenario were to come to pass as Iruka picked the door lock and Anko double-checked that they'd removed all of the wards. In the backs of their minds, both hoped that this was all just a test of their abilities, though their gut feelings said otherwise.

Iruka gave Anko a quick hug, knowing that, if things were as bad as they feared, it could be months before they saw each other again. Anko returned the embrace, then they charged through the door to confront their Sensei.

O

O

...My themes just keep getting longer and longer, don't they? And this one only mentioned vinegar once in the course of the action, while using it as a comparison for their feeling of betrayal as well. I suppose this is what I get for trying to turn a themes challenge into a semi-linear multi-chapter story.

Um...in case anyone was wondering about the wards and the vinegar, wouldn't someone like Orochimaru definitely protect as locked door with more than just the lock? I think so, and I don't think you'd want to touch a ward he made personally, mainly for safety reasons. To the best of my knowledge, vinegar does dissolve parchment. If I'm wrong, blame "The DaVinci Code" and suspend your disbelief, please.

I only hope everyone reading enjoys the story. Reviews are always appreciated, but I don't believe in holding chapters for ransom. Especially when there's a deadline. U


	7. Mold

A/N: Summary and disclaimer are on chapter one.

**7. Mold**

How long had Anko been out of the village? Too long, for sure. But that was about to change.

She finally had enough information on Sensei's plans to get going.

They'd decided, Iruka and Anko, that if Sensei was really abandoning the village, there was surely a reason behind it. They'd regret it if there was no follow up information, so one of them would have to go along as a spy of sorts.

Anko was a stronger, more experienced shinobi. If Orochimaru was only to bring one of them, it would be her. So Iruka feigned being hurt by the seal more than he was, acted very carefully so he'd be left behind without further harm.

The last months had been hard on both of them. Anko, for one, had been carefully sending reports via the tiniest, least-monitored of the snake summons.

Today's messenger was a garden snake whose color reminded her unpleasantly of the mold that too often accumulated in tubs. She'd spent far too much time recently trying to summon while ensconced in the bathroom of an inn, claiming feminine issues. Though, when she wasn't lying, at least she didn't need to constantly prick herself with a senbon for the blood that activating the contract demanded.

No more, Sensei was in the Rice Country to stay, it seemed. And Anko would be making her getaway at first chance. She missed her home village, especially Iruka.

O

Iruka had been trying to keep a low profile since Sensei's defection, which isn't easy if you're a fourteen-year-old genin with no living family, no genin team or similar, and a curse seal on your shoulder.

He wasn't sure if it was an advantage of disadvantage that at the loss of his original team, the genin had basically dropped off of the shinobi radar. Few people even knew he'd been on Orochimaru's team. He passed Anko's reports directly on to Hokage-sama, no middleman.

Iruka's training had mostly been solo, or under whatever jonin or more experienced chuunin had the time and didn't mind, and he'd taken few missions besides the occasional paperwork-type D-rank that didn't require teammates. Since he didn't have rent, living in his childhood home that his parents had left him, a few D-ranks would pay the necessary bills for the time being.

Anko had somehow managed to convey amusement through a letter when he'd told her that he'd cut off his ponytail and bought clothes in darker neutral colors like brown and gray. But he'd had to, because too many people bothered him already. He needed to be able to blend in until he was ready for the chuunin exams, so he could move beyond the events of being a genin.

Which was why Iruka was walking through Konoha with short hair, wearing all dark gray. The scar across his nose and the seal were covered over with _makeup_, and both the sleeves of his shirt and much of the midriff portion were netting. No one thought you were hiding something on your shoulder if they could see all but the part you were hiding.

He had to go grocery shopping; the only things in the kitchen were instant ramen and a slightly moldy basket of fresh fruit. Iruka was tired of ramen – the kind that came out of a cup, at least – and had no wish to eat something that was turning blue-gray and fuzzy.

Then there would be training. The last jonin bored enough to help had been a flaky-acting teen who had kept his nose buried in a book that Iruka was _fairly_ certain had been written by Sensei's former teammate - who he'd met a few times while his student. He'd lit the silver-haired boy's questionable choice of reading material with a small Katon jutsu to make him pay attention.

No, Iruka wanted nothing to do with that 'Kakashi'. But where was Anko's next report and letter? They should have arrived that morning. The snakes could find him anywhere based on chakra signature, but why hadn't one yet? Hopefully, the delay was a good thing. They always had been before.

_There!_ A flash of scales that certainly didn't look like it belonged locally. It had to be Anko's message.

_Rice country... Doesn't appear to be going anywhere... _A smile lit Iruka's face as he continued to skim the report. Anko was going to be on her way back to Konoha first chance she got! He ran toward the Hokage Tower to pass on the news, his lack of groceries forgotten.

O

Across the Fire Country, into the Rice Country, Mitarashi Anko traveled swiftly toward the border. Sensei may have lost his mind, but he was still good at teaching new jutsus. Hopefully, that shadow clone would be able to impersonate her until morning. After all, the suite at the inn had two separate bedrooms off the main room, even if they were divided only by rice paper screens.

Back to Konoha. Back home. _Shit._ What happened to her apartment and her possessions while she was gone? She didn't have any family to take care of that for her. Hopefully, Iruka had cleaned everything out, and wouldn't mind her crashing in his guest bedroom for a while.

O

O

Well, that ending surprised even me. Not to mention that I'd intended half from each of their point of view. Since it ended up in three parts, I'm not sure if I managed it.

So, basically, both of them are trying to keep a low profile on two ends of a spying-type mission they set up themselves, and are communicating via the Summoning Jutsu. I bet Orochimaru would be regretting teaching it to both of them if he knew!

And look! Mold on both sides! cough Anyways, it never says in canon when Akatsuki was founded. I'm making it so that it isn't founded yet. Here, Orochimaru is scouting a location for Sound, then joins Akatsuki after it is founded, then quits as Uchiha Itachi joins to found Sound. Okay?

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	8. Chastity

A/N: Summary and disclaimer are on the first part. Also, I'd just like to clarify something. If either major character seems a bit off compared to canon, remember that it's still years before the canon occurs, and a personality can develop over time. That being said, I know Anko seems a bit quiet right now. I think part of the Naruto-ish-ness would be a development after Orochimaru's betrayal, and some of it would be visible only when she interacts with people she knows less well. Just wait for next chapter.

**8. Chastity**

When Umino Iruka ran into his office at full speed, the first thought of the Sandaime Hokage was, "How did he get past the guards?" before deciding that it didn't matter as long as Iruka hadn't hurt them and it wasn't through a means that an attacker would try.

Once he had been handed the latest report by Mitarashi Anko, however, Sarutobi simply offered a gentle smile that seemed...very knowing. "I don't think Anko will arrive until sometime tomorrow at least, even if she stops as little as possible. The Hokage's chambers in the Tower don't include a guest room, but I'd be happy to have a futon brought in if you'd like to wait for her here."

Iruka accepted the offer, and went quickly to his home to put together an overnight bag before then hurrying back to wait for Anko.

By the next afternoon, the young ninja had grown impatient of waiting, and, not wanting a hole worn through his office's carpet, Sarutobi set up Iruka to help with some of the paperwork that so often accumulated.

Suddenly, there was a loud _crash_ of the main doors being flung open, and the Hokage was immensely glad that he had forewarned the staff of Anko's imminent arrival.

When the guards outside the doors to the office opened the way for her, Iruka was the first to reach Anko, enveloping her in a warm hug. She returned the embrace, before announcing, "I am _never_ doing undercover work again. Ever. If I ever go to accept a mission like that again, stop me, Iruka."

To the Hokage, "Sensei has completely lost it. I think he's trying to do some sort of body-swapping technique. I could have read the notes wrong, but it still looks _damn bad_. It doesn't look like he's planning on leaving Rice Country anytime soon. No idea why. Send in some shinobi who are suited to spy work if you actually care what he's doing, old man."

Shaking his head as though Anko was a particularly strong-headed grandchild, which is what he probably saw her as in the first place, the Hokage asked her, "Are you sure you should even be standing after traveling with such haste?"

"I'll probably pass out from exhaustion before too long, but I want to make the most of the time I'm still awake, not just sit around quietly. Iruka, you've been having trouble finding someone to train with, haven't you?"

He nodded. "I've been working with whoever has time, in between whatever missions are within my rank and don't require a team. Mostly paperwork for the Hokage Office, and babysitting a war orphan toddler who Hokage-sama's been raising because a foster family couldn't be found for him."

Anko looked confused, murmuring, "A foster family couldn't... Is it the Kyuubi kid?" At Iruka's affirmative, she remarked, "I'll help out if you want. I'm not great with kids, but it's better than nothing," before declaring, "I'll be your new training coach! You need to be at least a chuunin to specialize into something good, so I'll help."

"Thank you, Anko." He blushed slightly, stammering, "Ano... Anko..." and, unable to find the right words, he kissed her lightly on the lips.

Anko smiled against Iruka's lips and returned the chaste kiss before finally losing the battle to exhaustion, slumping unconscious against him, her head slipping onto his shoulder.

O

O

I'm not sure if that actually counts as romance. Is fluff close enough? Regardless, the will probably be no new updates until Sunday or Monday.


	9. Balloons

A/N: Summary and disclaimer are on the first part. For anyone trying to find where they'd left off after updates continue, this is where they start arriving at a rate of two to four a day, I hope.

**9. Balloons**

It was the day of the matches for the chuunin exam.

Anko had been helping Iruka prepare. She'd thought him ready for the very first after her return to Konoha, but Iruka had wanted to be sure that he'd only have to take the exam once. After all, he did have to find a team with whom to test.

Which was precisely why it was the third exam after their reunion that Iruka was participating in. Only one team with two students had wanted to participate in the second, and that spot had been filled by a year-mate whose team had passed in the exam that Iruka had chosen to bypass.

Not this time, though. Some Uchiha, Anko couldn't remember his name, had a team with two students because one, an Uchiha himself, had chosen to apprentice for the police force.

Anko grinned happily, though some people nearby may have thought it looked maniacal, as one or two backed away in the stands. It was time for Iruka's first match!

The Kiri-nin who was also about to begin his match could only stare as a girl of about seventeen stood up in the stands, cheering for his opponent, Iruka, and throwing small balloons, streamers, and confetti from a bag she had set by her feet.

In a mesh body glove topped by khaki shorts and a black sports bra, she didn't quite stand out in the predominantly-shinobi crowd, but something about her just seemed to draw attention. Maybe it was the messily pinned purple hair? No, it must be the loudness of her cheering.

"That your girlfriend, Umino?" the Kiri-nin scoffed.

"Yep." Iruka's smile was bright as he spoke. "Isn't she wonderful?"

Iruka and Anko had been dating happily for the entire year since their confession of feelings past friendship via the kiss at Anko's return. Not that most people had any idea. They didn't try to be secretive, but neither did they yell that they were dating from the top of the Hokage memorial. Though that may be a good way to announce it should they ever want to...

They just weren't what Iruka had jokingly termed a 'touchy-feely couple' – one who couldn't keep their hands off of each other whether in public or not. Most people just seemed to think that they were a very affectionate pair of best friends, and that was fine by them. Less questions that way.

Anko waited with baited breath to see if...yes! Iruka turned his opponent's water attack against him! You'd think with the surname Umino, the boy would realize that Iruka's family was originally from Kiri themselves. Of course he know mizu-jutsus; his family had only just fled to Konoha during the bloodline technique purges when Iruka was four.

Anko waited (somewhat) patiently for the battles to continue, cheering every time Iruka won a match. He didn't lose until the final match, to an Iwa-nin, Dei-something.

She ran down to meet him, just as the Kages began announcing the rank promotions from their own villages, with one of the names Sarutobi announced being Iruka's own.

The six months of training and six months of field experience on two-man C-rank missions with Anko had paid off, and Iruka was finally a chuunin at age sixteen.

Now, Iruka thought mischeviously, to help Anko figure out which special jonin specialization she'd prefer or whether she even wanted one...

O

O

Yep, I've been lazy about writing. You'll probably be seeing three or so new chapters a day until I manage to finish, because I have it pretty much planned out and don't want to be disqualified for not finishing soon enough. Regardless, I hope those reading like this chapter; it was really fun to write.


	10. Blizzard

A/N: I think you know the routine for summary/disclaimer already. From this point on, the length of the parts is going to vary a bit more. Some will be very short, others won't. Happy reading!

**10. Blizzard**

In the middle of a snowstorm, in a cliff-side cave lit by a small fire, two teen chuunin prepared to sleep.

"Well, you did want to take one last mission before taking the jonin exam."

Anko and Iruka were snowed in on the way back form a C-rank delivery mission.

She had decided to specialize as an Examiner, one of the field agents for the Torture and Interrogation Department.

Though Anko had no wish to torture anybody, she knew from past experience that she had a natural flair for getting information out of someone without torture. Usually, her methods involved a combination of creatively employed midlevel genjutsu and strong spririts, but nobody had complained about her methods yet, probably because they were effective and didn't require a medic-nin or a body bag to clean up after.

Besides which, she herself had once termed the missions standard to the group as _'just like a hunter-nin, but with orders to capture, not kill'_, something she liked about the job. One of the Examiners, Morino something - _really ought to learn the name before going to work with or for him_ – was reputed to have never killed anyone. Ever. Given his occupation, that made him all the scarier.

The only downside was that Torture and Interrogation was the department that was placed in charge of organizing and running the Chuunin exam when it was in Konoha. _But what were the chances of actually being placed in any significant position there?_

Anko shivered. _So cold._

She looked at her rolled-up bedroll forlornly, then at Iruka as he sat in his, having climbed in after banking the fire for the night. _Damn this blizzard. Why couldn't it have held out until we made it back to Konoha?_

"Scoot over a bit, Iruka." He looked a bit confused and was blushing slightly.

"I'm cold, you're cold, the fire is doing jack squat to keep us warm, and I see no reason to freeze."

Iruka slid over and made some room. It would be a tight squeeze, but at least they'd be warm. Anko slid into the bedroll next to Iruka and settled in to sleep.

A few minutes later, both ninjas were as deeply asleep as anyone of their profession ever were in the field, wrapped in each others arms and just enjoying the safe-feeling warmth of each other's presence.

Outside, the blizzard howled on.


	11. Light

A/N: I think you know the routine. This is a shorter one.

**11. Light**

The Hokage Memorial is carved straight into the side of the cliff that overlooks Konoha.

At the top of the cliff, there is a level, grassy clearing.

In the clearing this evening are two ninjas. They are enjoying a pleasant picnic by the light of the sunset and by candlelight.

Ninjas on a picnic are a rare sight, indeed, but these are no ordinary ninjas.

"Iruka, this is really sweet of you to put together, but it's not really like you to put together a picnic. Cook a nice dinner because I'm capable of burning water, perhaps, but not a picnic. Any particular occasion?"

He smiled at Anko, and whispered something in her ear. Her face lit up, and he pulled a large bag from behind a tree bordering the clearing.

People who walked by the Hokage Memorial that evening were bombarded with water balloons thrown by a pair of ninjas on a date. Many thought they were crazy, both for their choice of entertainment and because they believed the two shinobi too different in personality for the relationship to work.

Anko and Iruka just sat on the Yondaime Hokage's nose and laughed.


	12. Market

A/N: Also short. I promise the last two or three will be long in comparison, though.

**12. Market**

Mitarashi Anko was walking through the marketplace, browsing through fresh produce. She was stopped by a kunoichi friend of hers, Yuuhi Kurenai.

Kurenai knew only of Anko's former teacher, not her teammate, but she didn't particularly care. It had become something of a public secret, as real secrets rarely exist in a village of ninja. No one, it seemed, had any idea of where Iruka had been in terms of team from the time of the loss of his original team until making chuunin, save Anko herself, Sarutobi, and two other friends of his named Izumo and Kotetsu. Only the ninjas seemed to remember that Orochimaru had been Anko's teacher at one point, and only a handful cared about that enough to bother her about it.

"Anko...you still alive in there?" Kurenai asked. Apparently, she had gotten lost in thought.

"I'm fine. Really. Just thinking."

Her friend smiled. "I wasn't aware you could cook."

"Oh, I can't. My boyfriend is making dinner for both of us."

"...Anko, I know I've been gone for a while on that undercover mission, but you seriously found a boyfriend? One who can cook? Who are you dating, and since when?"

"Ah...I sort of meant to tell you sooner. Iruka and I have been dating for quite a while, since before you started your long-term mission a few months ago."

"Wait. Back up. Iruka? As in Umino Iruka? The chuunin who got the top scores on the specialization exam to teach at the Ninja Academy?" Kurenai sounded incredulous.

"Yep. He gets his first class next school year; he's just substituting between missions until then."

"...Wow. Never would have guessed it. You, dating a teacher."

"Kurenai, you and Asuma are nearly as unlikely a couple. And he wasn't a teacher yet when we started dating. Hadn't even taken the chuunin exam yet, come to think of it. But we were friends for a long time before we started dating."

Now the red-eyed kunoichi just looked flabbergasted. "I think we need to have a nice long talk. Clearly, we don't talk enough about our personal lives. You've been dating for at least two or three _years_, were friends before that, and you didn't think to tell me?!"

"I told you I was seeing someone when I started dating Iruka. You just never asked for detail because you thought it wouldn't last, which it has. Not my fault the subject hasn't come up lately. Tell you what, you and Asuma come join us for dinner, and we can talk then. I think your near yelling has started to draw a crowd."

O

Okay, not so short. It was supposed to be, but then it just _spawned_. I mean... it's short for a chapter, but long for a theme. Regardless, I appreciate all of the kind reviews I've received so far. I'm not going to respond to them here, as that's what review replies are for. If a need for explanation is brought up, though, I'll say what I need to in author notes.


	13. A Big Mess

A/N: Just for the record, the last three or so will probably be fairly long, and will take place around the Chuunin Exam arc. I'm trying to not technically violate canon in any large way – please note the word technically.

Also, I'm considering eventually starting a sequel eventually that would significantly deviate from canon as of...someplace toward the end of part one of the manga, slightly before the fillers in the anime. When this story ends, I'd appreciate feedback in the form of final reviews or PMs as to whether anyone would actually read such a story. Thanks.

Please note that in the timeline of things, we are now about...three years before the start of the series? Naruto and his year-mates are in the general vicinity of ten, and our lovely crazy couple are both roughly twenty, I think. This is why I try not to pick an exact point for things here...it doesn't work so well to calculate.

**13. A Big Mess**

It was Iruka's first day of teaching, and Murphy's Law seemed to be in full effect. Everying on a small scale level that could go wrong, had.

Anko's mission had run over the night before. She had moved in with him a few months before, and while they were far from a couple who had trouble keeping their hands off each other, both had enough demons in their past that they enjoyed just being able to sleep in each other's arms when neither was gone on a mission. Iruka just couldn't feel comfortable in the big bed in their room alone, so he'd ended up falling asleep in the guest bedroom that had been his as a child. It had no alarm clock. Not anymore, at any rate.

In the end, Iruka had woken up with barely enough time to get ready and Anko sprawled across him in full mission gear – khaki skirt with shorts built in, body glove with attached bra, she hadn't even removed her trench coat or shoes.

They'd been very nearly out of coffee, though Anko had somehow managed to make a pot while Iruka searched for his standard issue bodysuit. He'd gotten too into the habit of wearing trousers and net shirt, with makeup over the seal, to feel comfortable in the standard teacher garb for some time, though he could at least use the same flak jackets.

Not to mention that he felt quite bad about accidentally waking Anko up as he crept out of bed, since she had the day off after her mission. Though, being a bit of a morning person and wanting to see him off to his first day teaching, she didn't particularly care.

Mizuki was still sulking about not having been made an Academy instructor. He and Iruka had shared a tentative friendship since the memorable feather prank with Anko to make Mizuki recognize him as an individual and not just somewhere to direct pity.

He was upset that Iruka hadn't recommended him for the new leader of the chuunin squad Iruka had previously led in four and five man missions. Iruka had told him he'd picked his replacement before learning the Mizuki hadn't been given a teaching postition, but the truth was that he didn't trust him. Not enough to led him lead a team, at least.

Iruka had offered to make him his assistant teacher once Mizuki had completed remedial training, so that he could try again at a later date, preferably once he'd shown himself to be responsible enough to be entrusted with a room full of children, though he kept the second part to himself. Mizuki still sulked and brooded.

Not to mention that the class he was taking over apparently had several pranksters in it.

Iruka opened the classroom door, and caught the bucket of who-knows-what open-handed by the bottom as it fell from the doorframe. _Amateurs._ Looking up at the bunch of little scamps he'd be trying to turn into ninjas, he saw...

_Naruto. I remember he was ranting in the Hokage's office a few weeks ago about his teacher retiring, but I never imagined she was the same teacher I'm replacing._

_He probably doesn't even remember Anko and I helping Sarutobi raise him when he was little. I wonder if he'll remember my name when he recognizes me as the one of the Hokage's assistants who keeps reminding him to do his laundry, and bringing him bento boxes and coupons for free ramen when he runs low on groceries..._

"Whaaaaaa-? Iruka, _you're_ our new teacher?!" Apparently, Naruto had a very good memory for the names of those who were particularly nice to him.

Iruka smiled. He'd had a soft spot in his heart for the little blonde demon container ever since meeting him years ago when he was just a toddler, seeing him as the little brother he could never have. Maybe this day was starting to look up after all...

Meanwhile, in the Umino/Mitarashi household, Anko had fallen back asleep sprawled across the couch, dolphin-patterned throw tossed haphazardly over her mission clothes and a little fox plushie from Iruka's childhood clasped loosely in one hand.

Her muddy footprints tracked into the house, to the guest room, and through the kitchen to the couch, where her dirty shoes remained on her feet.

The cooling coffee lay forgotten on the table...

O

...I can't write things as short as I mean them to be to save my life, can I? Regardless, I hope you all still like the story. It will not be abandoned, even if it isn't done in time to be a contest entry. Maybe there will be a sequel... Hm...


	14. Time

**14. Time**

"Argh! There aren't enough hours in the day for all of this!"

Anko had fallen into the pit of despair commonly referred to as required paperwork.

It wasn't her fault, really. She'd been out of the village for nearly a week, working with a squad of hunter-nins.

Anko's mission was to capture one of the enemy ninjas alive for interrogation, while the hunter-nins took care of the rest.

Upon returning from the very much successful mission, however, she'd found a mountain of paperwork beyond comprehension, at least in the context of how short a time she had been gone.

Across the village...Iruka had fallen into a similar predicament.

He, however, had the combined paperwork of his fulltime teaching position and the hours he worked at the mission desk instead of the accumulated work of being out of the village.

Iruka had never really thought before about what would happen when one of the occasional huge influxes of paperwork arrived at a time that roughly coincided with when he was teaching. Unfortunately, he was forced to experience it firsthand. Not a pretty sight.

By the end of the day, both ninjas were nearly too tired to move out of sheer mental exhaustion.

In the end, they were so exhausted that, by mutual agreement, dinner was take-out ramen and dango, both of their favorite foods. As they sat at their kitchen table, they were relieved that the next day should be business as usual.

O

...That was short. I guess that's what I get for not pre-planning this one, unlike the others. I know this wasn't romantic in the least, but I'm trying to also place a focus on the everyday. Remember, in this story, they started out being best friends for several years before dating, and they've been together long enough between the various time-skips between chapters that their relationship is relatively stable, if unpredictable at times due to their career choices and general pranking tendencies. Their biggest problems are rarely in their relationship with each other, but rather the stresses of everyday life and their own inner demons.

And, just for the record, I'd like to thank Sillymail for extending the contest deadline to 11:59PM on the eighteenth. I wouldn't have left this story incomplete regardless, but it's nice to know that it can still be an acceptable entry if I'm unable to finish today.


	15. Stars

A/N: This chapter and the preceding one were the only two in all that were not preplanned. They've given me the most trouble to date, and sadly enough for all the difficulty are among the shortest. That being said, I am sort of following the theme, just not with the sort of stars you find in the sky or spoken of in tabloids. Enjoy.

**15. Stars**

Few couples, ninjas or not, could turn sparring – or any form of practice, for that matter – into anything ever incredibly remotely resembling a romantic outing.

That's because none of them were Iruka and Anko.

Their practice had, over the course of half an hour, taken them across five training fields, two rivers, and into the forest. A hundred throwing stars or more littered the ground, the trees. Neither combatant in this play game was injured, just winded. They knew each other too well for that, knew every in and out of the other's fighting style. In this particular case, the rank difference meant absolutely nothing in the fight.

Which is why they dragged some of Iruka's occasional co-workers in the mission office, a pair of ninjas named Genma and Raido, into a two on two practice match. ...By flinging a handful of throwing stars in their general direction to get their attention.

Genma stared at the unlikely-to-him team, inquiring, "Since when do you two even know each other?" Anko had met them on occasion in missions, and besides that anyone in the mission office tended to eventually know everyone chuunin rank or higher by reputation at least. They did not, however, have any idea that the other two were even friends, let alone a couple.

Both the jonin examiner and chuunin schoolteacher smirked at the other ninjas, and rather than answering, kissed one another fiercely...thought whether to solve or compound their confusion, their would-be opponents didn't know.

Raido recovered from speechlessness first, asking, "If we win, will we get an explanation?"

O

See? Shuriken ninja stars instead. A bit lame, I know, but it was the best I could manage.


	16. Apples

Please note that the contest accidentally lacked a number sixteen. Therefore, seventeen is in fact supposed to follow fifteen in this case.

**17. Apples**

Thunder rumbled overhead, and storm clouds gathered.

Walking through the marketplace on her way to the Torture and Interrogation Department for the office portion of her work, Anko spotted a stall with colorful produce. _Some color could be nice to brighten up a day like today..._

Iruka walked into his classroom after recess to discover bright shiny red apples pinned to the bulletin board by their stems with senbon throwing needles. The fruits formed a giant smile face on the surface. _Must have been Anko. The only other person who would even consider doing that is Naruto, and he doesn't carry senbon._

Lightning flashed again, this time with a bit of rain accompanying. The class Iruka had been assigned to after his last one graduated was too young to even consider taking them out in any sort of unfavorable weather for weapons practice. Hopefully, it would quiet down by then.

If not...

Meanwhile, Anko was on the roof of the Torture and Interrogation Department. She checked that the clean tarp was secure on the ground below.

"Mitarashi, what the hell are you doing?" _Hm...Morino seems a bit angry._

"Well, the weather is so lousy today, I thought we could all use a bit of cheering up. I'm trying to finish before the rain really starts up."

"You haven't answered my question. Talk."

"Fine, be like that." Anko used a small ice jutsu – only the really big techniques with two or more of the main elements were really impossible without an appropriate bloodlimit, and hers was small enough to be only upper chuunin-level – and froze solid the watermelon sitting on the roof in front of her.

Then she chucked it over the side of the building, watching the pretty patterns made as it smashed directly onto the tarp. The tarp that was clean enough to eat off of.

"Oh. Well, I still expect you to be on time to the department meeting in fifteen minutes, Mitarashi."

Anko just smirked in response, and walked down the wall of the building to the waiting treat for her and her co-workers.

Once practice time rolled around at the Ninja Academy, the storm had not let up at all. In fact, it had gotten significantly worse. Iruka wouldn't have considered taking even students who were about to graduate and should be able to handle less than favorable weather out to practice in it, not even briefly. Which left him in a bit of a predicament. None of the targets were meant for use indoors.

Then yet another student asked about the apples, which had never been taken down – mostly because Iruka liked them up.

He smiled, _there's a way to make this work!_

"We're still having weapons practice, so don't get your hopes up at getting out of it. But...we aren't going outside in _that_."

Several minutes later, Iruka had set up a few buckets of sand with wooden poles in them. He pinned three apples to each pole from behind with senbon to serve as the targets themselves.

As his students got ready to practice with their shuriken throwing, Iruka wondered if Anko had known he'd need something for target practice or if she'd just felt like pinning objects to his bulletin board and the apples had been the first suitable things she'd found.

Across town, Anko sneezed.

O

O

The site wouldn't let me submit documents earlier, or else this would have been up sooner. Oh, and as for the last bit, there is a superstition in Japan (and some other places elsewhere in the world, I believe) that you sneeze when someone is talking about you. I just couldn't resist.


	17. Envy

A/N: I had this ready to submit a little while ago, but the site wasn't cooperating. Please note that in this story, Anko and Naruto have in fact met before the Chuunin Exam. Naruto has not, however, seen her on duty in any way shape or form. He knows she's a ninja, but she's always been in civilian clothes when he's spoken to her before that point. In fact, he didn't even recognize her right off the bat there because he's never seen her with her hair up, though most people who know her besides Iruka and a few friends such as Kurenai have never seen her with it down – at least, they didn't know it was her. Got it?

**18. Envy**

Anko sighed. The kid was one of the only she could stand, but this was just too much.

Had he started following her because he'd met her when she was on the job for the first time, rather than off duty in civilian clothes, a few days ago doing her most hated part of her work, running the chuunin exam?

Or was it something deeper, seeing her as a threat to his time with her boyfriend, his almost-brother?

"I already know you're there, kid." An 'eep' from behind her. "Look, Naruto, you may be good at hiding, but I'm a jonin with a not-so-former prankster for a boyfriend. You can't hide from _me_."

Naruto sighed and came out of hiding. Anko tried her best to be nice to the little guy; it wasn't his fault so many people disliked him, unless someone out there did only because of the pranks and not the Kyuubi.

"I'm not going to hurt you, kiddo. What's wrong?"

He was being stubborn and not speaking. The second option, then. If he'd followed her after seeing her on the job or because she'd known her little stunt with the blood licking would be excessively frightening to everyone if the person had never met her and jumped ten feet up, he'd have started yelling by now. The kid was too much like Iruka...and her too, come to think of it.

"You're worried that you're going to lose Iruka because of me, aren't you?" His eyes widened. She'd hit the nail on the head. "I'll be honest with you, Naruto. Unless something happens to one or both of us before we are able to, Iruka and I want to get married. But...when that happens, you aren't going to lose your big brother. You're going to gain a sister."

He was speechless. Not a good sign.

"Let me put it this way. You usually avoid the family festivals like the plague because you don't want to go alone, don't you? Except for when you sometimes go with Iruka. Don't look at me like that; I'm exactly the same way about those. Well, how about from now on, you go with Iruka _and me_? If anyone gives you a hard time, just tell them you are there with your family, your big brother and his girlfriend."

Before she knew what was happening, Anko had an armful of very happy blonde genin. Returning the hug, she thought '_If this is what having a little brother is like, maybe kids aren't so bad after all_.'

O

I think I just choked myself on the sap in this chapter! The last two parts will be up...I really hope before midnight tomorrow. If not... shrugs


	18. Explosion

A/N: This is set during Orochimaru's invasion of Konoha. I've taken artistic liberty with this, but please note that, in the anime at least, both Anko and Iruka were among the ninjas protecting the pre-genin students and a number of civilians in an underground shelter of sorts. The large section in italics is flashback. I think this is going to end up a pretty long theme...

**19. Explosion**

Another explosion rocked the shelter. Carved into rock face in the form of tunnels and open caverns, it was easier to defend than the general village for keeping safe civilians and ninjas-in-training.

The group to which Iruka and Anko, among others, were assigned to protect was made up mainly of the aforementioned students and some civilian women and children.

The enemy ninjas didn't seem to care that few of the group could do much to protect themselves. Ninjas with Sound forehead protectors fell before the Leaf ninja guardians, but not nearly fast enough.

"We know these tunnels better than anyone from outside the village ever could. We're going to have to go further in to keep the enemy away from our charges!" one of the jonin on the team yelled over the clash of weapons.

And the assessment was accurate; the team there was mostly genin in their late teens, with only three jonin including Anko accompanying the chuunin-rank Academy teachers in assisting them.

The genin took the lead in taking the students and civilians deeper and further from battle, with one of the jonin and some of the teachers.

The rest of the ninjas pulled up the rear, save Anko and Iruka.

They kissed each other goodbye – not a forever goodbye, just one of the 'I'm going to work now, I'll see you this evening' variety.

Then, after a burst of smoke, there were two of each ninja, one running in either direction – toward their charges and toward their enemies. No one else knew which ninjas were the Shadow Clones and which were the originals.

And how things could change in just a day, Anko thought.

_The wedding was a small and discreet event, just fifty or sixty guests. Anko's and Iruka's co-workers were present along with their mutual and separate friends. The Hokage had presided._

_Both Anko and Iruka had wished they could wear the formal wedding kimono of one of their sets of parents, the most extravagant thing they wanted to bother with in a ceremony that was only formality to a ninja couple deeply in love._

_Sadly, that was not to be. Iruka's parents had fled Mist when he was just four years old, leaving most of their possessions behind to make a new life without the fear and hatred at clans with bloodlimits surrounding them. Anko's birth parents had both died when she was a young girl, in the war; she hardly remembered them. She and her adoptive mother had been a happy family until the ANBU died on mission, but she'd never married._

_Sarutobi had deemed his and his wife's kimonos too old and musty to be worn, so he'd gone into the stored clothing of former Hokages, which was left to their successors, and presented them with those of the Fourth and his wife to use for their ceremony._

_They'd dispensed with bridesmaids and groomsmen, choosing just two bride's attendants and two groom's attendants. Isumo and Kotetsu for Iruka; Kurenai and Ibiki for Anko. For all his gruffness, Ibiki was the big brother Anko had never had._

_They'd picked Naruto for the ringbearer, of course. In the absence of a father, uncle, or other relative as well as not wanting ask her traitorous sensei, Anko had been given away by Jiraiya, walking in from the side instead of the back because they'd chosen to seat all the guests together. She hadn't even had to blackmail him with the knowledge that the secretly bisexual old perv's biggest sexual fantasy had once been a threesome with both of his former teammates. Probably, Naruto had something to do with the lack of need for the dirt. If she and Iruka weren't overridden by prejudiced village council members (and likely even if they were), the little scamp would definitely be moving in with his brother and sister-in-law._

_A simple affair, but one as both the bride and groom had wanted it. Small, and attended by only their most precious people, all those who knew they were a couple in the first place._

How things had changed in just a day. They'd planned to take a week off of work and visit a spa in a civilian village outside Mist for a honeymoon of sorts, but that was not going to happen now. Not that they minded, they'd rather have a home to come back to than a honeymoon.

Anko continued herding the children into the cavern they would be defending from what ninjas slipped past Iruka. His Shadow Clone beside her was little comfort as she rubbed her thumb across her jutsu-hidden wedding band, hand twitching near her weapon pouch as the right gripped the sword hilt at her waist.

In the first tunnel, Iruka crouched on the ceiling where he had attached himself during the smoke flash, Anko's two mismatched Shadow Clones in fighting stances on the ground below him.

In the large makeshift stronghold, everyone was growing nervous. There shouldn't be many more attacks as deep as they'd gone, but still the explosions of battle outside echoed.

"Which of you is the clone?" one of the jonin asked Anko and 'Iruka.' The Iruka clone nodded.

Konohamaru, one of Iruka's students started yelling in disbelief before Anko clapped a hand over his mouth. "Even I know when to be quiet, kid! Now, shut up!"

"Look," she continued, in a lower tone of voice, "I'm an Examiner because I can capture jonin alive without worrying about being badly injured. But Iruka is capable of fighting at least at a jonin level just as much as I am – but only when he doesn't have to worry about bystanders or capturing anyone alive. We make a great team, but when it comes down to it, we each have our own strengths. I have more chakra and better control of it, more ability to capture enemies alive, and a greater number of jutsus at my disposal. But Iruka...if he doesn't have to worry about anyone being around who isn't an enemy and if he's fighting in the dark or a fog or some other condition where you shouldn't be able to see to fight, he could stop an ANBU."

Three chuunin and two jonin, all Sound, entered the first cave. This was where more of the entrances converged before continuing on. At least three other ninjas could find the others, but they could handle them easily while protecting their charges.

Anko's clones put out the lights in the cave and extinguished the enemy's lanterns as they were dispersed.

"That's all?!" one of the ninjas barked. "That's the best they can do? Putting out our lights so we have to go back to relight them before going in and killing them all?" The ninjas laughed, and started fumbling in the dark for tinder.

"_Akuma-gan."_ The whisper was barely audible, but carried in the echoing cavern. Two pinpricks of golden light, like the reflection off of the eyes of a cat, flashed briefly.

The children began worrying when the screams started. They thought Iruka was being killed. When all went quiet, Anko gave the Shadow Clone a shove in the shoulder just hard enough to dismiss it, before attacking the Sound chuunin who had just run in from a tunnel starting on the other side of the system.

Iruka stumbled in a few minutes later, bloody and panting. "Don't worry, most of it isn't mine," he croaked as Anko came forward and asked him to prove that he was really Iruka.

He took her left hand in both of his, brushing a finger along her wedding band before lessening the jutsu to show his.

Anko supported her husband with both arms as she kissed him on his bloody forehead, which was uncovered because the protector had slipped around his neck, before moving to kiss him on the lips.

In reverse imitation of the first kiss of their relationship, Iruka had barely returned the kiss before slumping into a faint.

Anko, never one to take defending her loved ones as a passive job, threw a kunai at the newest single attacker before settling into a sitting position with Iruka's head on her lap.

Another explosion from outside echoed through the cavern, but not a life had been lost of the cluster of Konoha citizens under the watch of Mitarashi Anko and Umino Iruka. They would never allow their former teacher that victory against them, even if they were never his direct opponents. The future was more important to them both than the past.

O

This was officially the longest theme to date. Please note that I'm trying to be realistic, not angsty. Bad things happen, especially if you're a ninja. But these two aren't about to give up.

Perhaps I owe an explanation for Iruka's fight? I gave a few hints in the chapter, but I think I'd better explain. Umino seems more like a Mist surname than a Leaf one. But why would Leaf take in criminals from Mist? Because they're refugees, not criminals. Remember what happened to Haku's family? And all because they had a bloodline ability. I didn't want to make anything very powerful, but I thought an eye-based one that applied to the physical instead of chakra would be realistic. I'm fairly sure "Akuma-gan" is demon-eye, like how "Byakku-gan" is white-eye, etc. Basically, it allows for seeing through mist/fog and other minor obstructions as well as some degree of night vision. Its only use outside of odd circumstances such as that is for a medical ninja, who can use it to see somewhat into and more degree of external injuries, maybe internal ones if they're very adept with it. Nothing more, nothing less. Explanation over.

The last theme is an epilogue, and hopefully will tie up the loose ends enough for anyone who doesn't want to wait for the sequel I plan to write sometime in the next several months. Thank you for reading.


	19. Hospital

_As one door closes, another opens. With this chapter, "Sea Serpent" closes, but who knows what the future could bring?_

**20. Hospital**

The Konoha Hospital had leaked into the Hokage Tower, with every trained medical ninja, civilian physician, and trained healer with another specialization serving on active duty. Iruka had never been so glad that he had begun studying to be a medical ninja before deciding to specialize as a teacher instead, and Anko had never before been so grateful that Examiners were forced to study field medicine as part of their training.

Fortunately, though the number of injured was very high, higher than any time since the end of the last Shinobi War, the death toll was unbelievably low. The military strength of Konoha would be much depleted in coming years by the number of ninjas forced to take desk positions or retire all together due to injuries sustained in the attack, but few households would be in mourning.

The last couple ever to be married by the Third Hokage worked together as a team to heal the wounded, Iruka healing the most life-threatening injuries as best he could while discreetly guided by the Akuma-gan, as Anko treated those wounds that could be safely allowed to heal on their own.

When an injured but stable Naruto arrived at the hospital, they were the first to reach him. By this point, Anko was channeling her larger chakra reserves through Iruka so that he could continue without actually driving himself to chakra exhaustion.

Some hours after the fighting ended, the dead were being prepared for funeral, while the wounded were, depending upon condition, checked out and taken home by their families or officially checked into the hospital. Few beds were open, but everyone had been treated and the dead were few.

One of the largely unsung heroes of the day lay sleeping in a hospital bed, one of his teammates and friends passed out in the bed next to his, the other having been taken home by her family after treatment.

In the room next to that shared by Naruto and Sasuke, Iruka and Anko had collapsed onto an unoccupied bed, sweaty and dirty, covered in the blood of enemies and patients, fully clad for battle or healing save that their shoes had been kicked under the bed.

They slept peacefully despite the horrors that had befallen them and those they held dear once again, because they refused to give up.

The life of a shinobi was a difficult one, but they had each other, and they would persevere.

O

Fin

O

And that's all she wrote...for now.

Before bringing this story to a close, I'd like to first thank all of my readers, especially those who reviewed. I'd also like to thank Karura.Yukirin, who told me about the contest that inspired this story, as well as Sillymail, who created the contest.

At some point in the next several months, I hope to perhaps begin a sequel to this story, written in a more continuing rather than snapshot fashion and deviating more from canon. If or when I do so, I will PM all those who left a review for this story or added it to their favorite or alert lists.

Thank you for sticking through until the end, and I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it.


End file.
